Archer Komalika eyes U-21 recurve gold, Olympic trials

Indias rising archery star Komalika Bari is keen to hit the bulls eye in the Khelo India Youth Games, but she has a bigger target on her mind: the Olympic trials slated to be held on January 18.

The 17-year-old, who captured the fraternity's attention in the last edition of the Games before going on to claim the gold in the World Youth Archery Championship, is primed for the country's biggest sports fiesta in her favourite Recurve event.

"This is where it all started last year, at the Khelo India Games. Of course, I would like to repeat what I did in 2019," Komalika said. "It will be a great start to a huge season. With the trials coming up, I want to get into my groove soonest," she added.

Despite the big tests ahead, Jharkhand's Komalika is focussing on the task at hand: putting on a flawless performance in Guwahati. It will not be easy as she will be moving up from the U-17 to the U-21 Recurve, posing its own set of challenges.

On the eve of the Khelo Games, she was engaged in a four-hour long practice session, fine tuning her stance and release. "You cannot ease off in archery. It is a sport that demands complete focus every day. No bunking. If you miss a day, you circle back to the beginning," she said.

The feeling on the practice course was that with an overall increase in the level of competition, this year's event will be unpredictable, but exciting. Richpal Singh, the coach of the Madhya Pradesh archery team, refused to pick favourites. Anil Kumar, Jharkhand's coach offered a simple throwaway line: "It depends on the day. There are no reputation based medals here."

Komalika herself acknowledged that moving up an age group, which means an increase in the recurve distance too, has its own challenges. But she is confident that her experience over the last year will hold her in good stead.

As for the gold medal she leaves behind in the U17, Komalika names a teammate to take over. "Shaniya (Sharma) won silver last year in Pune so she can win the gold this time," she laughed, "And there is Laxmi (Hembrom), who has come better prepared than ever. So there could be a surprise there."

( With inputs from IANS )